


Collaboration

by ThayerKerbasy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Post-Episode: s11e23 Alpha and Omega, Season/Series 12 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 20:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19875436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThayerKerbasy/pseuds/ThayerKerbasy
Summary: After reuniting with his sister, Chuck had some work to do.  After all, the Winchesters' next challenges weren't going to plan themselves.





	Collaboration

“Brother, why are we still here?” asked Amara. “I thought we were going to finally go explore the cosmos together.”

“We are, I promise. I just have a few things to finish up here first.”

The cursor blinked on a new blank page. With his trusty desktop computer taking up a whole table, Chuck quietly encouraged the mortals in the coffee shop to ignore him. He wanted the ambiance without any of the annoying attention, especially when he could conjure up his own quaint refreshments.

Appearing behind his shoulder, Amara pointed at the screen. “This is what’s delaying our trip? Why?”

Sighing, Chuck slumped in his seat. “The Winchesters are used to a certain level of challenge in their lives. I can’t just leave them to hunt petty little poltergeists while we’re gone. I need to come up with something new. Something big.”

“But, I just gave them back their mother not five minutes ago. Won’t that keep them busy for awhile?”

“Mary Winchester is a skilled hunter. It might take her a few days to get back up to speed, but then she’ll be out there taking down monsters, too. I need something…different. Something they’ve never faced before.”

“Brother, I played along when you pretended to be dying because you said it was important. Yes, it was fun playing with your mortals, but I’m bored here. You said we were done. Now there’s something else? How long is this going to take?”

Chuck waved her off. “It won’t take long, honest. We just need to wind ‘em up and let ‘em go.”

“Really?” She seemed mollified, for the moment at least. “In that case, what about using the rest of their whole—” she gestured vaguely, “—monster hunter group thing. There’s more of them on other continents, right?”

Pieces clicked into place with an almost audible sound in Chuck’s head. “Oooh, betrayal from the people they should be able to trust, I love it!” Typing up his thoughts in quick point form notes, he muttered, “Slip back a bit, nudge a hint at Lady Toni. Help tie up anything Ketch is doing so she can call him in. Pick out appropriate NPCs.”

Moving to stand beside him, Amara pointed at the screen again. “That last one, what’s that?”

A girl carrying a laptop bag had eyes on Chuck’s table. He must’ve let his attention slip for her to even register the space. A dismissive gesture made her eyes slip past him and over to a table in the corner. “What? Oh, NPCs? It’s short for non-player characters. If the story needs someone to work out the way I want it to and they don’t exist, I just nudge things a little. I like to keep familiar faces in my stories, so sometimes it means putting the right person in the way when an angel or demon wants a vessel. Other times it’s just a matter of putting something in a person’s inbox, like a job offer or an ad for a cheap apartment. The best is when I bring back someone who died and give ‘em a new name. Watching people wrap their brains around someone they think they know? Priceless, every time.” Contemplating the computer screen, Chuck tapped the air in front of it. “This time I think I might have to relocate an old hunter-turned-vet.”

“But why go to all that trouble? Can’t you just send the Winchesters their challenge and go? You said you’d show me Alpha Centauri, and I’d also like to see how my black holes are doing.”

“Yeah yeah, we’re still gonna go, I promise, but first I’ve gotta set this up. Like I said, I like to keep using the same characters when I can. What can I say? I like to throw curveballs at people to see how they handle it. That hunter/vet I mentioned? Dude almost killed Sam before and now he’s gonna have to patch the guy up without blowing his cover.”

Amara sighed. “I’ve waited a long time. I guess I can wait a little longer. You do your thing and I’ll just try one of these coffee things.”

While she wandered over to order something, Chuck pulled the necessary strings to rearrange his favourite universe. By the time she returned with an espresso, everything was already unfolding as planned.

When he pulled up current Winchester events on his computer, Amara conceded, “Alright, that was quick enough.”

“Right?” Chuck refilled his coffee mug with a thought. “I had to reach back a bit, but Doctor Gregory Marion, formerly Reggie Hull, was more than happy to move when I dropped a few hints about the area lacking a decent vet.”

Amara didn’t seem interested in hearing about how he repurposed his favourite characters, but she kept watching the screen. “Uh huh. Listen, you can watch this wherever we go, right?”

“Yeah, why?” Reluctant to pack up just yet, he temporized by taking a sip of his coffee. “I just got a refill, and you haven’t even tried your espresso.”

Looking down at her cup, Amara frowned and took a tentative taste. “It’s alright, I suppose. I’m not sure why humans are so obsessed with it.”

“It’s addictive,” Chuck replied, returning to his show, where Toni had just banished Castiel from the Bunker. “Watch this. She’s gonna threaten him and he’s gonna do that stupid brave thing he does and, oh just watch.”

Whether Amara was humouring him or actually intrigued, she kept watching. When things played out just as he’d predicted, she leaned in, her eyes lighting up when Sam got shot. “I thought he was one of your favorites. What’s she going to— Oh, I see. That’s why you wanted the vet. But where’s the fun if you already know what’s going to happen?”

Chuck smiled. Maybe he and his sister really could learn to agree after all. “That’s the best thing about Sam and Dean, and Cas now, too. They’re predictably unpredictable. Their reactions, sure, those are easy to predict, but the more you throw at them, the more imaginative they get. I can’t wait to see how Sam gets out of this. What do you think? Is Sam gonna get away on his own, or is someone else gonna come to his rescue?”

Setting her espresso down beside the computer, Amara pulled up a chair to sit beside him. “I think…Dean’s going to rescue him.”

“Going the safe route. I can respect that. Just for you, I’m not gonna set anything else up until we see how that plays out. I’ll put my metaphorical money on…hmm…let’s say Mary.”

Pulling up Mary and Dean on a split screen, they watched both sides for awhile until Amara finished her espresso. She slid her empty cup across the table and slumped. “Do we have to do this here? You and I, we’re both more than capable of dividing our attentions. Is there a reason we can’t do this _and_ check on my black holes?”

If it’d been just him, Chuck would have stayed in the coffee shop all day, then moved to a bar for the night, but if the Winchesters had taught him anything, it was that sometimes you’ve gotta compromise a little. After tossing back the last sip of his coffee — still warm because some parts of the human experience just weren’t worth replicating — he reduced the mug down to atoms and a concept and packed it away in his pocket. “Yeah, alright. They’re just doing research right now anyways. Lemme just pause this and we can fast forward to the good stuff when we get there.”

With a snap, he folded his computer into a thought and put it in his pocket next to the theoretical coffee mug. He held out a hand to his sister, and together they ascended to the stars. Most of his consciousness carried on their conversation, but a small part of him couldn’t resist picking out some of his favorites to keep watch over Lucifer’s most likely vessels. He’d be seeing a lot of them, so it only made sense to choose someone he enjoyed watching.

He only got as far as giving Tommy the face of a man who’d died a decade prior when Amara interrupted him. “Are you seriously still working on that? You promised to wait.”

“What? The part with Lucifer has nothing to do with who rescues Sam. It’s not cheating.”

“It doesn’t matter. You promised not to set up anything else until after Sam’s rescued.”

“Fiiiiine.” With a pang of loss, he let go of the story. He could always go back and meddle a little more later.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Coldest Hits time! [This month's theme](https://spncoldesthits.tumblr.com/post/185550869170/july-2019-prompt-recycle-like-chuck-posting-dates) was all about finding some explanation for at least one of the actors on Supernatural who has played more than one role. I decided it'd be more fun to explain all of them.


End file.
